The present invention relates to a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material. In particular, the present invention relates to an ultrahigh contrast negative type photographic light-sensitive material suitable for scanners and image setters for photomechanical processes.
Silver halide photographic light-sensitive materials for scanners and image setters for use in photomechanical processes are used in the shape of a roll in many cases.
As a light-shielded light-sensitive material roll which is a packaged light-sensitive material roll comprising a light-sensitive material roll including a light-sensitive material sheet wound around a roll core, disk-shaped light-shielding members (also called light-shielding flanges) attached at each of the both ends of the roll and a light-shielding leader wound around the roll (henceforth referred to as xe2x80x9clight-shielded light-sensitive material rollxe2x80x9d) and which can be mounted on a machine in a light room without exposing the light-sensitive material sheet, there are known those having the structures described below.
Japanese Patent No. 2899594 proposes a light-shielded light-sensitive material roll constituted by a light-sensitive material roll, light-shielding leader, sealing disks and end caps comprising a flexible portion having incisions (flap form segments) on the periphery thereof and a hub form portion, wherein the light-shielding leader is wound around the light-sensitive material roll, the hub form portions of the end caps are inserted into a hollow core of the light-sensitive material roll, and the flap form segments are folded to fix the light-shielding leader and the end caps. However, this light-shielded light-sensitive material roll has the complicated form of the flexible portion of the end cap, and an apparatus for folding the flexible portion of the end cap must be required in the production thereof.
Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication (Kokai, hence forth referred to as xe2x80x9cJP-Axe2x80x9d) No. 11-105941 proposes a light-shielded light-sensitive material roll in which disk-shaped light-shielding members are attached to both end surfaces of the light-sensitive material roll wound with a light-shielding leader, peripheral portions of the disk-shaped light-shielding members are folded, and the light-shielding leader and the disk-shaped light-shielding members are adhered. However, this light-shielded light-sensitive material roll also requires an apparatus for folding flexible portions of the disk-shaped light-shielding members in the production thereof like the aforementioned light-shielded light-sensitive material roll proposed in Japanese Patent No. 2899594.
Further, JP-A-8-62783 proposes a light-shielded light-sensitive material roll in which a light-shielding leader having a width larger than a light-sensitive material is partially elongated by winding the light-shielding leader around the light-sensitive material roll with tension so that the light-shielding leader can also cover outer side surfaces of light-shielding flanges of the light-sensitive material roll.
However, in the structures proposed so far, photographic properties may be affected during long term storage of the materials, for example, the materials may suffer from sensitization, desensitization, increase of fog and so forth, and therefore improvements have been desired.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material in the shape of a light-shielded roll that suffers from little influence on photographic properties during long term storage thereof.
In order to achieve the aforementioned object, the present invention provides a silver halide photographic light-sensitive material comprising at least one silver halide emulsion layer on a support, which has a characteristic curve drawn in orthogonal coordinates of logarithm of light exposure (x-axis) and optical density (y-axis) using equal unit lengths for the both axes, on which gamma is 5.0 or more for the optical density range of 0.3-3.0, and is in the shape of a light-shielded light-sensitive material roll comprising a light-sensitive material roll including the light-sensitive material wound around a roll core, disk-shaped light-shielding members each attached to each of both ends of the roll core and having a radius approximately equal to a radius of the light-sensitive material roll and a light-shielding leader comprising a long length light-shielding sheet having a length longer than a length around the disk-shaped light-shielding member and a width approximately equal to a width of the long length light-sensitive material sheet and heat-shrinkable light-shielding film strips that have a length longer than a length around the disk-shaped light-shielding member, can be torn along the length direction and attached to both sides of the long length light-shielding sheet along side ends so that the strips can each extend from the long length light-shielding sheet in the transverse direction, and wherein the extending portions of the heat-shrinkable light-shielding film strips exceed outer peripheries of the disk-shaped light-shielding members and are fused to outside surfaces of the disk-shaped light-shielding members in a state that the extending portions of the heat-shrinkable light-shielding film strips are thermally shrunk mainly along the length direction.
The aforementioned silver halide photographic light-sensitive material of the present invention is preferably in the shape of the light-shielded light-sensitive material roll in which the roll core is hollow, the disk-shaped light-shielding members have ring-shaped projections on the surfaces at the center and the ring-shaped projections are fitted into a hollow of the roll core so that the ring-shaped projections can contact with inner wall of the hollow roll core; light-shielded light-sensitive material roll in which the heat-shrinkable light-shielding film strips that can be torn show an Elmendorf tear strength along the length direction in the range of 0.1-0.5 N; light-shielded light-sensitive material roll in which the heat-shrinkable light-shielding film strips that can be torn have a property that they are torn along a direction parallel to the side ends of the light-shielding sheet or a direction of going away from the side ends of the light-shielding sheet, when the light-shielding leader is rolled out; light-shielded light-sensitive material roll in which the heat-shrinkable light-shielding film strips that can be torn have a shrinking ratio along the length direction of 5-30% at 100xc2x0 C. and a shrinking ratio along the width direction smaller than the shrinking ratio along the length direction by at least 1%; light-shielded light-sensitive material roll in which the heat-shrinkable light-shielding film strips that can be torn comprise a heat shrinkable film and thermoplastic light-shielding films substantially not showing heat-shrinking property laminated on both surfaces of the heat shrinkable film; or light-shielded light-sensitive material roll which has a light-shielding leader comprising a long length light-shielding sheet attached with heat-shrinkable light-shielding film strips that can be torn along the length direction on both sides of the long length light-shielding sheet along the side ends so that the each heat-shrinkable light-shielding film strip can extend from the long length light-shielding sheet in the transverse direction.
Further, the aforementioned silver halide photographic light-sensitive material of the present invention preferably contains a hydrazine compound, and preferably has a film surface pH of 6.0 or less for the emulsion layer side.
By using the silver halide photographic light-sensitive material of the present invention in the shape of a light-shielded light-sensitive material roll, which is characterized by having a characteristic curve drawn in orthogonal coordinates of logarithm of light exposure (x-axis) and optical density (y-axis) using equal unit lengths for the both axes, on which gamma is 5.0 or more for the optical density range of 0.3-3.0, influences on photographic properties can be reduced even after long term storage thereof.